MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION ON PUFFIN ISLAND. 33 
hand or push nets kill great numbers of young shrimps in 
the shallows; and there certainly seems abundant evidence 
that a great destruction of immature flat fish (soles and 
flukes) 1s caused by the shrimpers generally. It is worth 
consideration and experiment whether it would be possible 
to construct in the tail end of the net some form of metal 
sieve with narrow elongated meshes of such a size and 
form as would allow small soles and flukes to wriggle 
through while retaining at least the larger shrimps. This 
would be in constant action while the net was being 
worked, and would take the place of the apparently in- 
adequate operation of sifting, which is performed in the 
boat after the net has been emptied and which is probably 
too late to save the lives of many of the young fishes. Mr. 
R. A. Dawson has just informed me that a few years ago 
he experimented with a shank trawl which had the lower 
edge of the net fixed to a bar set a little way off the 
ground so that only the shrimps, which spring well up- 
wards when disturbed, were captured and most of the 
young fishes were passed over. Mr. Dawson intends to 
have another net of this kind made, and to give it a fair 
trial during the fishery investigations he is now carrying 
on. 
If, as seems likely, it will be soon found necessary in 
the interests of the young flat fish to restrict somewhat the 
operations of the shrimpers in space or time, or in both, 
a compensating addition to the supply of shrimps might, 
I think, be obtained by artificial cultivation. Some parts 
of our sandy estuaries might be enclosed as shrimp 
preserves to be stocked, supplied with food, and carefully 
attended to. The shrimps breed practically all the year 
round, are hardy and prolific, and if supplied with 
plenty of food and protected from their enemies would 
probably increase greatly in numbers in a very short time. 
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